Cover Reveal Blitz: Love Can't Conquer by Kim Fielding

May 6, 2016

Love Can't Conquer

(Love Can't series, Bk #1)

by Kim Fielding

Blurb:

Bullied as a child in small-town Kansas, Jeremy Cox ultimately escaped to Portland, Oregon. Now in his forties, he’s an urban park ranger who does his best to rescue runaways and other street people. His ex-boyfriend, Donny—lost to drinking and drugs six years earlier—appears on his doorstep and inadvertently drags Jeremy into danger. As if dealing with Donny’s issues doesn’t cause enough turmoil, Jeremy meets a fascinating but enigmatic man who carries more than his fair share of problems.

Qayin Hill has almost nothing but skeletons in his closet and demons in his head. A former addict who struggles with anxiety and depression, Qay doesn’t know which of his secrets to reveal to Jeremy—or how to react when Jeremy wants to save him from himself.

Despite the pasts that continue to haunt them, Jeremy and Qay find passion, friendship, and a tentative hope for the future. Now they need to decide whether love is truly a powerful thing or if, despite the old adage, love can’t conquer all.

If Qay was going to be honest with
himself—and he generally was—he was disappointed to arrive at P-Town and
discover that Captain Caffeine wasn’t there. But the man’s absence was probably
for the best, because Qay was supposed to be studying, not ogling. And with the
help of a generous cup of coffee, he accomplished quite a lot. Knowledge was
slowly seeping into his broken old brain, although fuck knew if he’d be able to
pour it back onto the page come exam time.

When he heard the conversation taking
place behind him, he lost all interest in Mill’s thoughts about liberty. What
caught his attention first was the man’s
voice. Pleasantly deep, it carried a hint of the twangy drawl Qay remembered
from his childhood. Most of his youthful memories were painful, but sometimes
he missed the accent—a unique mix of the Midwest and West with a dash of the
South.

As he paid attention to the content of
what the man was saying, Qay realized the guy was talking about a visit from
his fucked-up ex. That was interesting for two reasons. The speaker was
obviously gay, and he’d apparently done the ex a solid, even though—judging by
Rhoda’s interjections—the ex was a jerk. That made the man sitting behind Qay
sound like a true white hat, and it was slightly gratifying to know that Qay
wasn’t the only person with a shitload of issues. At least nobody was trying to
slice and dice him.

At this point in the conversation, Qay
was pretty certain who was talking to Rhoda. Who else but Captain Caffeine,
right? But Qay couldn’t look around to confirm the identity without making his
eavesdropping obvious. Then Rhoda called the man by name, and Qay’s heart
stuttered.

Jeremy Cox?

A detailed memory hit Qay: a kid a
couple of years younger than him, tow-haired and slightly pudgy. Quiet. The kid
kept his head down and his mouth shut, but every time a teacher called on him, his intelligence was clear—he was light-years
smarter than Troy Baker and his gang of morons, who used to torment the boy for
sport. That boy’s name had been Jeremy Cox. He’d sat in the back row next to
Qay, a little island of exiles among the other students, and he used to sneak
shy glances. When Qay looked back at him, maybe spared him a rare smile, Jeremy
would blush red as a fireplug.

Surely that runt of a boy from Kansas
hadn’t grown up to become Captain Caffeine, rescuer of past boyfriends and
coffeehouse fixture in Portland, Oregon. Yet even back then, his face had the
promise of real beauty, once he lost the baby fat and gained some experience.
Qay especially remembered gray eyes, each pale iris encircled by a darker rim.

He couldn’t help it—he turned around to
look.

Just then, Rhoda walked away and left a
clear line of sight between Qay and Captain Caf—Jeremy Cox, who stared at him
with brows drawn together in a frown. Qay braced himself for an attack that
didn’t come.

“Do we know each other?” Cox asked. He
tilted his head slightly. “Sorry, I kind of suck at names. But you look
familiar.”

Qay almost told him. But the person Cox
thought he knew was long dead, drowned in the Smoky Hill River, and Qay had no
intention of resurrecting him. Especially not for Jeremy Cox, who’d grown up
into a strong, gorgeous man who worried about douche bag exes and probably
spent his spare time rescuing cats and helping little old ladies cross the
street.

“I don’t think so,” Qay lied.

About The Author

Kim Fielding is the bestselling, award-winning author of numerous m/m romance novels, novellas, and short stories. Like Kim herself, her work is eclectic, spanning genres such as contemporary, fantasy, paranormal, and historical. Her stories are set in alternate worlds, in 15th century Bosnia, in modern-day Oregon. Her heroes are hipster architect werewolves, housekeepers, maimed giants, and conflicted graduate students. They’re usually flawed, they often encounter terrible obstacles, but they always find love.

After having migrated back and forth across the western two-thirds of the United States, Kim calls the boring part of California home. She lives there with her husband, her two daughters, and her day job as a university professor, but escapes as often as possible via car, train, plane, or boat. This may explain why her characters often seem to be in transit as well. She dreams of traveling and writing full-time.